Soboba Invitational Trail Ride

[PastaPilot 17]

Well first of all the ride is not really "invitational" unless you consider "anyone that sends an entry form and the check clears the bank is invited" invitational than I guess it is. If you haven't heard of the Soboba ride it is promoted as the "hardest organized trail ride in the world". It is held on the Soboba Reservation and is rougly 60 miles of almost all singletrack split into two 30 mile loops. The second loop is harder than the first and 80% don't start the second loop. :ph34r:/>

Nonetheless, after a brief rider meeting explaining the rules and a little history we get underway. Malcolm Smith and his crew are first through the Red Bull archway then afterwards they launch 4 riders at a time at about 30 second intervals.

It takes awhile to get through all the riders.

It is recommended to show up early to get the best starting sequence. We were there at 6:45AM.

Not a whole lot of pictures, I tried to keep my pace up as there is a whole lot of riding to do.

Red Bull sponsored refreshment stand at the 10 mile mark.

There was another water stand at 20 miles.

This is my friend Matt and some other guy on one of the hill climbs.

This was an easier climb, but had plenty of riders stacked up at the bottom. There were plenty of climbs and descents to raise the pucker factor some. The description of sitting at the top looking over the tip of your fender at the bottom is pretty spot on. I think there were a few that the fender would block your view of the bottom. Good times.

There was a vintage bike show that we were supposed to vote for a winner, but as we were starting the trail ride the bikes were still coming in. I saw a few Maicos and old husqvarnas, but this Ossa I saw after finishing the first loop caught my eye.

The highest point of the ride about 10 miles into loop 2.

I've never seen that many motorcycles in the same place, ever, and the bottlenecks on the hills and other obstacle were frustrating at times but never really that bad. I think the organizers did a really good with the course this year. The first difficult obstacle was about 5 miles in so riders had a chance to spread out before stacking up. I think the longest I waited was 10 minutes at a tricky, turning, ridge top, hill climb with multiple climb segments.

I depleted myself pretty bad in the 45 miles I rode that day. In loop 2 my legs started cramping up whenever I sat down so I called it a day at about the halfway mark. Then on the drive home as I turned onto the 215 onramp my right leg completely cramped up and then my left leg as I tried to stretch it out while I pulled to the side of the freeway.

Can't wait for next year. Matt is almost fully recovered from cancer and asked me to ride it with him. His fitness and stamina is about 90% from his pre-cancer diagnosis levels and did really well, but hit the wall about 20 miles into loop 1. He is the only reason I signed up for the ride, but we had an absolute blast. The Soboba ride is going on my list of yearly to dos.

Can't wait for next year.

[robertaccio 406]

Glad you guys did it, ya gotta do it al least once. I did 01 and have not been back since. Just waaay too many riders for my taste, less is more. area is amazing and trails are fun and good.

[PastaPilot 17]

Just waaay too many riders for my taste, less is more. area is amazing and trails are fun and good.

I feel the same way too many riders. Once I was out there and riding the trails and terrain are just way too fun.

[TrophyHunter 15]

Nicely done, Jon. Same account I've heard from others.....a lot of riders. If it wore you out, it'd kill me.

[HVYWT 3]

Good write, I would like to hear more.

I was on the list to ride ,I was trying to get " in shape" .

I had been riding every chance I got because my Buddies said the same from last year.

I thought I was on track putting 100+ dirt miles a day on the R .

But I took a NAP at OW in Jan.

Broke my leg and Sternum.

So maybe next year.....

[dirt dame 559]

Tried it back in 2007. 800 riders, handlebar-deep ruts, backups that lasted 45 minutes with no bail outs, thick dust first thing in the morning, followed by drizzle, then heavy rain. I started by myself, hooked up with one group that dropped out, hooked up with another group that dropped out, hooked up with another group that ended up trying to find a bailout around one of those nosebleed steep hillclimbs up a ridge. By the time I got back on course, I was only halfway through the first loop and it was already after noon and the second loop had started. The rain was falling pretty hard, and it was cold. I bailed out at the first opportunity, loaded up and went home. I don't have to wonder what it would be like to participate in that event anymore. I'm not a very good rider, but could have done okay if there hadn't been about 500 other riders who rode worse than I do, out there clogging up the whole place.

[AATA 0]

I rode/finished this event last year for my first time, but just reading your post makes my body hurt again. I'll never forget some of the drops and climbs on that ride. Serious pucker factor on a few! There was a video posted last year of a guy that started going down one of the hills and went over the bars from too much front brake. They're that steep. I remember trying to get up one of the hills towards the end and it was a yard sale of bikes, people just sliding down holding on to their bikes, etc. I think the bike I ran over near the top, finally gave me the traction I needed. Good times....good times!

As for getting their early, we camped onsite and left our bikes at the line the night before. We were in the first couple groups after Malcom and friends and still hit a couple traffic jams. It wasn't that bad and to be honest and the breaks were welcome. If you stopped on the trail, guys would pass, so we rarely stopped so the traffic jams were our rest stops.

Good to hear about it this year!

[PastaPilot 17]

I could have done better, I think, but I forgot my hydration pack. I borrowed a backpack and put 3 liters of water in there but had to stop, unload and drink. I did, but obviously not enough. Definitely not enough. I would like to finish and will try again next year.

I couldn't do anything about the riders that were way over their heads out there. So I didn't wait for them at bottlenecks. If they hesitated or looked in any way like they were in question of their abilities to surmount an obstacle, I went around them. Simple as that. Dust was not an issue until late in the afternoon. Perfect conditions all morning even though it'd been relatively dry the week before. The high temp for the day was in the mid 70s. There was only one deep rut and it was about cylinder head deep. Bailouts were abundant, but not marked.

I forgot. Matt sent me this video clip from his adventure.

[PastaPilot 17]

Karel Kramer was there and made a video for Dirt Bike magazine.

It's funny, I don't even remember some of these sections. The water crossing where he remarks that "the bikes have a mind of there own" is the last part of the ride that I did. I didn't find that water crossing to be as difficult as the riders in the video made it look.

There is a hillclimb around the 1:00 mark that a "large" rider on a KX fails on. I came around the corner right as his forward progress halted. Unfortunately I don't make it into the video but got to see him and the two other riders that are stopped at the bottom try and fail on that hill. I actually had to make two attempts as I decided to sit the first time.

[Covered in Dust 162]

I did Soboba 10 years in a row starting in the early 90's. The older I got the more I asked myself why. It wasn't all that bad on a 250 2 stroke but

when I did it on my ATK 605 I got stuck in a river and had to get towed out by a Hummer.

CiD

[Logroller 1]

Karel Kramer was there and made a video for Dirt Bike magazine.

It's funny, I don't even remember some of these sections. The water crossing where he remarks that "the bikes have a mind of there own" is the last part of the ride that I did. I didn't find that water crossing to be as difficult as the riders in the video made it look.

There is a hillclimb around the 1:00 mark that a "large" rider on a KX fails on. I came around the corner right as his forward progress halted. Unfortunately I don't make it into the video but got to see him and the two other riders that are stopped at the bottom try and fail on that hill. I actually had to make two attempts as I decided to sit the first time. :blush:/>/>

Good stuff and yes it did look taxing.

[christi20 0]

I am glad I did not go! That is just too many riders on one trail.